Keeping the tradition: The best holiday family movies

Our kid is getting to the age where the television is more than a noisy blur. This is also the first year that he’s aware enough to notice some different things going on with Christmas. (Like a giant tree suddenly appears in the middle of the living room.)

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This tree will still cost you $85 in San Francisco.

Since we’re a movie-obsessed family, I’ve decided to start an annual Christmas Eve tradition of watching holiday classics on DVD.

Charlie Brown is definitely in. “A Christmas Story,” “Elf” and “A Year Without Christmas” (AKA: the one with the Heat Miser) are on the short list as well. And to be politically correct, I’ll consider throwing in Robert Smigel’s “Christmastime for the Jews” from TV Funhouse.

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Sorry, Tiny Tim. You didn’t make the cut.

Among the near-misses: I wish “A Muppet Christmas Carol” was a little bit better, and the Burl Ives puppet in “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” wasn’t so creepy. “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” has a great soundtrack, but the movie is a bit overrated. “It’s a Wonderful Life” is solid, but a little too sugary for my taste. (Maybe I’ll like it more when I’m 90 years old.)